Team News

Liberty closes out its 2015 regular-season softball schedule on Tuesday, competing at Marshall at 4 p.m. The Lady Flames (27-28, 12-12 Big South) won six out of eight conference series, and are looking to end a four-game winless streak. Marshall (33-12, 12-7 Conference USA) has gone 15-2 in its last 17 games. The Thundering Herd leads the nation in stolen bases, while Liberty is the Big South steals leader.

Marshall leads the series, 10-2, since 1994, winning the last five meetings in a row.

Lady Flames at a Glance Liberty went 3-4 last week, playing seven games in a six-day span. A win over Virginia on Wednesday extended Liberty's winning streak to a season-best five games, before the Lady Flames ended the week by sustaining four straight setbacks.

Chandler Ball (19-10, 3.2 ERA) is tied for the Big South lead in victories, while throwing four shutouts this season. Kenzie Friesen (6-11, 3.88) has fashioned two shutouts, while Abby Tincher (2-7) has one shutout to her credit.

How to Follow the Lady Flames Fans can follow Tuesday's game between Liberty and Marshall through live stats and live video. Live stats will be provided courtesy of Marshall Sports Information. The game can be viewed online, for a small charge, at HerdZone.com

Quick Hits - Liberty has already posted a 16-win improvement over last season. - The Lady Flames lead the Big South with 88 stolen bases, five shy of program record. - Liberty won back-to-back extra-inning games, against Coastal Carolina and Hampton. - Chandler Ball (19-10) ranks fourth all-time at Liberty in single-season wins. - Ball (4), Kenzie Friesen (2) and Abby Tincher (1) have all thrown a shutout this year. - 10 different Lady Flames have registered at least one three-hit game this season. - Alexia Taylor's 19 multiple-hit games this year are the most by a Lady Flame since 2007. - Kelby Allen needs one more hit for 200 for her career. - Blair Lawrence has posted back-to-back seasons with 20 or more stolen bases. - In the last 10 games, Madison Kotchey batted .448 with seven RBI and eight runs scored. - The Lady Flames' roster includes eight newcomers (seven Fr., one JC transfer).

Marshall (33-12, 12-7 Conference USA) has gone 15-2 in its last 17 games. The Thundering Herd bats .350 as a team and leads the nation with 146 stolen bases. Morgan Zerkle leads C-USA with a .521 average and 45 steals, while Emileigh Cooper (.459) and Kaelynn Greene (.431) both bat over .400. Shaelynn Braxton (.310) paces the team with 44 RBI. Jordan Dixon (30-12) is tied for the national lead with 30 victories, while posting a 2.49 ERA, seven shutouts and 284 strikeouts.

Liberty and Marshall have faced six common opponents, against whom Liberty is 4-4 and Marshall is 7-2. These teams have both faced Charleston Southern, Dartmouth, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, South Carolina and UMass Lowell.

Marshall leads the all-time series, 10-2, since 1994, when Liberty began its NCAA Division I era. The Thundering Herd has won five straight meetings in the series. Liberty's last win over Marshall came Feb. 25, 2000, a 6-1 victory in Chattanooga, Tenn. Marshall downed the Lady Flames, 5-0, on March 3, 2007, in the teams' last meeting. Liberty's last trip to West Virginia was April 24, 2001, when Marshall swept the Lady Flames.

Regular-Season Finales Liberty softball is 11-10 in regular-season finales since 1994. The Lady Flames have won their final regular-season contest in six out of the last seven seasons. In 2012, Liberty closed out the regular season with a 14-6 win over Longwood, as Kelby Allen hit two home runs during the Lady Flames' victory. Last year, Liberty downed Presbyterian, 7-5, on April 27 in its final regular-season contest, with Jamie Crisp homering and driving in four runs.

Season Trends Liberty is 19-5 when allowing six or fewer hits and 8-23 when opponents record seven or more hits. The team is 26-13 when its starting pitcher throws five or more innings and 1-15 when the starter does not last five innings. The Lady Flames have gone 17-1 when holding opponents to two runs or less and 10-24 when allowing three or more runs.

10 Conference Wins At 12-12 in Big South play, Liberty earned double-digit conference victories for the seventh time in program history, and the first since the Lady Flames went 11-7 in Big South play in 2011. The program record for Big South victories is 13, when the 2010 Lady Flames went 13-5.

High Drama The Lady Flames posted back-to-back extra-inning victories, downing Coastal Carolina, 5-4, in 10 innings on April 18 before besting Hampton, 5-4 in nine frames last Tuesday. The last time Liberty had played back-to-back extra-inning contests was April 3, 2010 vs. Winthrop (W, 3-2 in eight innings) and April 7, 2010 vs. UNCG (L, 11-10 in nine).

Week in Review Liberty went 3-4 last week, starting strong with a doubleheader sweep of Hampton on Tuesday and a 3-2 win over Virginia, Wednesday. The Lady Flames dropped the nightcap, 4-2, to Virginia, before falling in all three games at Winthrop.

Madison Kotchey batted .455 with two doubles, one homer, three RBI and seven runs scored last week. Blair Lawrence hit .316, while Kenzie Friesen went 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA.

Lady Flames Split with Virginia Liberty ran its winning streak to a season-high five games with a 3-2 win over Virginia last Wednesday, before falling, 4-2 in the nightcap.

Blair Lawrence, Kelby Allen and Katie Han all went 2-for-4 during the first game, while Lawrence scored the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth. Chandler Ball earned the win, boosting her record to a Big South-best 19-8.

Ball is one win away from becoming the fourth Liberty pitcher all-time with a 20-win season. Leslie Inge holds the program record with 22 wins in 2000. Katie Phillips (1997) and Tiffani Smith (2010) are tied for second at 20 victories.

Game one saw the Lady Flames overcome a 4-0, seventh-inning deficit, tying the game at 4-4, before Jessica Cicerchia scored from first on a Megan Robinson single in the bottom of the ninth for the 5-4 win. It marked Liberty's largest seventh-inning deficit overcome in a victory since trailing, 8-1, in the seventh during an 11-8, eight-inning win at Gardner-Webb, April 16, 2011.

Liberty scored three unanswered runs in the nightcap, winning 5-2. Madison Kotchey went 3-for-3, while Katie Han and Megan Robinson both batted 2-for-4.

Lady Flames Post Senior-Day Sweep of First-Place Chanticleers After falling, 4-3, to Coastal Carolina April 17, the Lady Flames posted a doubleheader sweep of the Chanticleers (5-4, 5-4 (10)) on April 18.

Madison Kotchey went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and a career-high four RBI during game one on Saturday, while Alexia Taylor (2-for-3) also doubled and homered.

Game two lasted 10 innings, Liberty's longest game since a 10-inning setback at Radford, March 28, 2012. Cassie Gingerich, who went 2-for-5 on her birthday, laid down a squeeze bunt to send Mickey Loveridge home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. Kassidy McCoy went 3-for-5 with two RBI.

3X10 Madison Kotchey went 3-for-3 with a career-high two doubles during game two against Hampton, last Tuesday. The Lady Flames have had 10 different players with a three-hit game this year, led by Tori Zavodny (four times). Megan Robinson has posted three three-hit games in 2015 and Kelby Allen, two. Jamie Crisp, Katie Han, Blair Lawrence, Mickey Loveridge, Kassidy McCoy and Alexia Taylor have posted one three-hit game each.

Since the start of the 2001 season, this is the first year in which 10 Lady Flames have registered at least one three-hit contest.

Virginia Tech Victory Freshman Abby Tincher shut down Virginia Tech on April 16, fashioning a two-hit shutout during a 1-0 win over the Hokies. The win over Virginia Tech was Liberty's first win in the series since May 4, 2006. Tincher, whose sister, Angela Tincher O'Brien, was a three-time All-American pitcher at Virginia Tech and is currently on the Hokies' coaching staff, recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in her first career shutout.

100/100 Kelby Allen is the fifth Lady Flame with both 100 runs and 100 RBI. She needs one more hit to join Jessica Moore (2005-07) and Ashley Williams (2005-07) as the only Lady Flames all-time with 200 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBI.

Allen is ranked sixth in program history with 119 career RBI and is tied for second with six sacrifice flies. With 199 career hits, she is ranked sixth in program history. She is 10th all-time in career triples (four), fifth with 27 home runs and eighth with 110 runs.